ME Legends: The Silent Step
by KFish1
Summary: Based on one line from Capt Kirrahe's inspiring Virmire speech, this is the untold story of a STG legend "who defeated a nation with a single shot." SHORT story with all original characters.


"Mass Effect Legends: The Silent Step"

Killing a man is easy, but killing an idea... that takes talent.

The Operative moved silently in the shadows, adjusting the sights on his sniper scope. He was alone, the way he always preferred to operate. Some members of the Salarian Special Task Group thought of him as a bit of a lone wolf, but it made infiltration deep into enemy territory that much easier when you didn't have to worry about a team slowing you down.

Not that it had been difficult for him to sneak through the Batarian's laughable excuse for internal security. The Hegemony was so bogged down in bureaucratic inefficiencies, no one bothered to ask questions when a last minute crate was added to an inbound slave freighter. Once it reached port, the Operative initiated a few hacks into the security server to ensure the cameras would just happen to fail for a few seconds, and he simply stepped out of his crate and into enemy territory.

His target, an errant Batarian general, had been just as easy to find. The chest thumping warmonger never gave up a chance to parade himself in front of the cameras. Over the last few days of tracking, the Operative could have had his target shot, blown up, or poisoned any number of times. But he wasn't just trying to kill the man. He was trying to kill off his dangerous ideas. The STG knew that if they simply killed the Batarian General, someone else in the Hegemony command structure would take his place. No, the weed of his ideas must be pulled out by its roots.

The Salarian Operative was codenamed the Silent Step. Like all of his comrades, he excelled at deep cover intelligence missions, sabotage, and assassination. Since the Salarians always preferred such tactics to conventional warfare, the STG was the silent but lethal sword that protected the entire Union.

This particular mission targeted a Batarian General who had made the fatal mistake of misinterpreting the Salarian's aversion to frontal attacks for cowardice. Without permission from the Hegemony High Command, he had taken his fleet and bombarded the Salarian colony world of Mannovai, challenging their fleet to face him in a one on one battle. When the Salarian fleet never showed, the Batarian returned to the Hegemony, declaring that his people had nothing to fear from the "race of spies and scientists, without a single warrior to protect them."

The Silent Step had been tracking the warmonger now for three days, looking for the perfect time to strike. He easily hacked into the General's personal account and found his private itinerary, room layout, and even a copy of his upcoming speech to the Batarian Supreme Command. The target obviously thought this information was not critical as it was encrypted with only the most basic algorithms, but it provided the Silent Step with exactly what he was looking for. He only needed one shot, but it would be a shot heard throughout the galaxy.

Sitting in a shadowy corner of the ceiling, the Silent Step shook his head as he watched the members of the Supreme Command taking their seats below him. These Batarian thugs were more tiring than anything else. He almost wished for the days when the STG had been employed against worthy opponents, as when they had put down the Krogan Rebellions a millennium ago. At least then the Salarian people knew the STG were actively out in the galaxy protecting them. The records of this mission would probably never be released.

The Silent Step watched through his scope as his target arrogantly walked up to the podium, knowing that billions of Batarians were watching this address throughout the Hegemony. He obviously was confident that his speech would change the course of his entire race. The Salarian smiled to himself. His target had no idea how right he was.

"My brothers," the General's voice boomed throughout the cavernous building. "We Batarians are a proud, strong people. Why do we continue to cower before the Council races and their diplomats? We burn their worlds and they do nothing but talk!"

The Silent Step centered his crosshairs in the middle of the Batarian's four eyes. "That's right. Keep pouring it on..."

The General pounded his fist on the podium. "I say let us take what we need! What are we afraid of? The Salarians have no real power. They try to intimidate with stories of shadows, as if we will tremble like children who are afraid of imaginary monsters in the night. But when you call their bluff and stand up to them, they scatter like frightened children themselves."

The Silent Step began to slowly squeeze the trigger. This was it.

The Batarian leaned forward and gazed straight into the cameras. "Salarian strength is a myth. If they are so all-knowing, why didn't they foresee my fleet reaching Mannovai? If they are so powerful, why didn't they stop my ships from raining death upon their citizens? The Salarians are cowards! I call on them to do their worst and stop us if they can!"

And with that, a single shot tore through the Supreme Command building. The hollow point, shredder round burst inside its target, causing the General's head to explode into a fine pink mist. Screams rose up from the crowd as the General's decapitated head slumped lifelessly to the stage. Meanwhile, the cameras had transmitted it throughout the Hegemony, reaching billions of viewers before the military censors could cut the feed.

The Silent Step allowed himself a quick smile. The timing had been absolutely perfect. Leaving his sniper rifle, he slowly melted away into the shadows and disappeared. He wanted the Batarian Security to find the weapon, marked with the symbol of the Salarian Union. It would leave absolutely no doubt who was behind the assassination. The message would be perfectly clear, even to the arrogant members of the Batarian Supreme Command. The Salarians WERE all-knowing and powerful. Nowhere in the galaxy was beyond their reach.

In the days that followed, the Hegemony's cries for war with the Salarian Union were suddenly silent. After seeing their former commander's head explode live on all the media networks, not one of the assassinated General's subordinates stepped up to continue his crusade. The fact that the STG could infiltrate even the most secure military facilities rocked the Batarian Hegemony to its core. A state of paranoia all but froze the military in place, as commanders feared every shadow could hide a STG operative.

In the end, the Batarian General had been absolutely right. His speech had changed the course of the entire Hegemony, although not in the way he had intended. Such a public and gruesome death had torn out the idea for war by its roots. With just a single shot, the Silent Step had defeated an entire nation.

END

I would appreciate any and all feedback, especially any areas you think need improvement. I am always trying to improve my writing, so please don't hold back on the criticisms where needed!

-KFish1


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